THE PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, Mr. Leader, members of Congress, fellow
Texans, distinguished guests, Dr. and Mrs. DeBakey: I'm honored to join
you on this day of celebration. Throughout our nation's history, the
Congressional Gold Medal has been awarded sparingly, in recognition of the
tremendous accomplishments that it takes to earn this high honor. The
recipients of this medal who have come from the world of science are few,
but they are iconic -- they include Thomas Edison, Walter Reed and Jonas
Salk. Today we gather to recognize that Michael DeBakey's name belongs
among them.

I appreciate the members of the Texas delegation -- Senator Hutchison,
Representative Green, and others who sponsored this legislation.

As the chancellor emeritus of the Baylor College of Medicine and the
director of the DeBakey Heart Center, Dr. DeBakey has given the citizens of
the great state of Texas one more reason to be proud. It's a good thing,
too, because we're usually such a quiet bunch -- (laughter) -- unassuming
people.

In the year that Michael DeBakey was born, Theodore Roosevelt sat in the
White House, Henry Ford produced the first Model T automobile, and the
average American's life expectancy was a little more than 51 years. That
last point is worth noting, because the number today is nearly 78 years.
Our lifetimes have been extended by more than 50 percent within the course
of a century, and the man we're honoring today is part of the reason why.

It was Hippocrates, the author of the doctor's sacred oath, who said,
"Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there also is love of humanity."
Truer words could not be spoken of Michael DeBakey. Growing up in the
small town of Lake Charles, Louisiana, he learned the power of compassion
at an early age. Every Sunday, as the Speaker noted, Michael's parents and
siblings would load the family car with clothes and food for children who
lived in an orphanage on the outskirts of town. One weekend, the donations
included one of his favorite ball caps. When Michael complained, his
mother simply told him, "You have a lot of caps. Those children have
none." It was a lesson that he never forgot. And Michael DeBakey has been
giving to the world ever since.

The other gift that Dr. DeBakey's parents gave him was a love of learning.
In fact, young Michael's mother and father required their children to check
a book out of the library every week. One week, Michael returned home
frustrated and he told his father that he had found a fascinating book, but
that the librarians refused to lend it to him. The book was actually part
of a series -- called the Encyclopedia Britannica. (Laughter.) And when
his father bought the set for him, Michael read every word of every article
in every volume.

The charitable spirit and disciplined mind that Michael developed in his
youth have lasted throughout his life. It was his selflessness that caused
him to volunteer for World War II even though he was a successful surgeon
and professor. It was his intellect that caused him to help develop the
idea of the MASH unit during his service. It was his power of his mind
that led him to become one of the pioneers of the heart transplant, bypass
surgery, and the artificial heart. And it was his sense of compassion that
led him to help create a magnet school in Houston for young people pursuing
careers in science.

It's been nearly 40 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Dr.
DeBakey the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At that point, four decades
ago, he'd already proven himself to be one of the great scientific minds of
his generation. In the years since, that status is being reaffirmed by the
many honors he has received, including the National Medal of Science,
induction into the Health Care Hall of Fame, a lifetime achievement award
from the United Nations, and a "living legend" citation from the Library of
Congress.

But that was most interesting in another distinction
-- it is this: that Dr. DeBakey was the first foreign physician made an
honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. That took quite an
act, to get into the Russian Academy of Sciences -- all it took was him
saving the life of a president. (Laughter.) In 1996, only five years
after the Cold War ended, Dr. DeBakey traveled to Moscow and arranged Boris
Yeltsin's quintuple bypass. President Yeltsin spoke for many of Dr.
DeBakey's patients when he called him, "a man with a gift of performing
miracles."

Dr. DeBakey has an impressive resume, but his truest legacy is not
inscribed on a medal or etched into stone. It is written on the human
heart. His legacy is the unlost hours with family and friends who are
still with us because of his healing touch. His legacy is grandparents who
lived to see their grandchildren. His legacy is holding the fragile and
sacred gift of human life in his hands -- and returning it unbroken.

For nearly a hundred years, our country has been blessed with the endless
talents and dedication of Dr. Michael DeBakey. And he has dedicated his
career to a truly noble ambition -- bettering the life of his fellow man.

Dr. DeBakey, on behalf of all those you've healed and those you've
inspired, we thank you. May God bless you.

And now, I ask the Speaker and Senator Reid to join me for the Gold Medal
Presentation. (Applause.)